More Poddie Power

Skepticism, whether spelled correctly the British way [scepticism] or with the deviant North American k, is a good thing I think. Feel the siren call of the latest advertorial gadget on 2AM TV? Be skeptical. Get an email from Nigeria offering a large, easy cash return? Be skeptical.

So how come skepticism - let alone scepticism - is a wicked thing when it comes to religion?

There shall come scoffers in the Last Days... and thank God for that. The garden of the Lord is too full of credulous folk already. Dave Pack has a congregation full of such people; now there's a group who could do with a healthy dose of skepticism, preferably before their bank accounts are drained completely and their homes up for mortgagee sale.

I know I'll be blasted for saying it, but skeptics/sceptics are by and large on the side of the angels. Any faith that can't stand up to hard questions should be toppled off its pedestal.

Which is a long-winded way to introduce the excellent Infidel Guy podcast.

Reginald Finley is a former Christian of the Southern Baptist persuasion - or something very like it. Unlike some of the more confrontational types, Reg is downright polite and reasonable, and Infidel Guy sets a high standard in this kind of discourse.

Guests have included, on the one hand, Kent Hovind (the creationist) and Fred Phelp's son Tim (of God Hates Fags infamy). I know I'd lose it in the first five minutes with people of this ilk, but Reggie handles such guests with aplomb: in fact I'm humbled just listening in. On the other hand there have been superb interviews with Richard Dawkins and Richard Carrier.

But best of all, from my perspective as an uppity part-time theology student, have been the shows with biblical scholars, people like Bob Price (more on him in a moment), Hector Avalos and Bart Ehrman. Occasionally Reggie gets more than he bargained for - as in the Ehrman interview - but overall the tone is respectful, positive and inquiring. Christian media gild the lily, mainstream media dumb issues down, but ol' Reggie digs deep.

Bob Price deserves a separate entry. In fact, that's exactly what I'll do, so stay tuned...

Meantime, check out the IG website and - if you dare - consider subscribing to the free podcast. I haven't become an atheist as a result, but I'm certainly better informed!

The Power of the Poddie

I've been online for years, but only recently discovered the joy of podcasts. So, for something a bit different to the usual "pastor general's new clothes" routine, here's a list of what I currently listen to, beginning with something of no relevance whatsoever to the subject of this blog. In return, feel free to recommend your own favorites.

Category One: Nostalgia. When I was but a lad in short trousers, the family radio - a wooden cased monstrosity with valves - was permanently tuned into what later became Radio NZ National, the Kiwi equivalent of NPR. In those far off days people who were born in NZ would still speak of Britain as "the old country", and the cultural cringe extended to BBC entertainment shows. This had its benefits with some outstanding comedy (The Goon Show, The Navy Lark, The Men from the Ministry...) and an early rustic soap called The Archers, set in the fictional town of Ambridge, which I particularly remember as it was broadcast soon after I'd get home from school, and listening in was slightly preferable to doing homework. The accents were fascinating (was that really English?), but the theme music - actually a maypole dance! - especially burned its way into my memory after the thousandth episode or so (only a slight exaggeration as the 13,546th episode was aired on St Patrick's Day 2001.)

Sometime in the 1970s most New Zealanders finally worked out that they were something other than transplanted Poms, and local news pushed the BBC bulletin off the air, the silly but erudite quiz shows disappeared, we dumped God Save the Queen as the national anthem, and The Archers disappeared among the detritus of Empire.

A few weeks ago I discovered that BBC Radio 4 was still running the show six days a week, the theme music was still the same, and lo and behold, The Archers was even available for download as a poddie. Now, in an act that would disgust my younger self, I religiously listen to the show in the evenings, though each episode has no more pace and excitement than a herniated tortoise. I'm now at the stage where the characters are starting to gel together and it's possible to make sense of the loose story line: almost certainly a sign of geriatric decay on my part. You probably need to be somewhat advanced in years to appreciate this one!

Category Two: Skepticism.

(To be continued)